Joseph m



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFTUE.

JOSEPH M. LIPPINCOTT, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 14,896, dated May 13, 1856.

To @ZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. LIPPIN- coTT, of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Locks Applicable to Door-Locks and P ank- Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawing, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my door lock. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my door lock, the top and sides being removed to exhibit the interior. Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2, excepting that the bolts wrenches and latch spring are removed to exhibit the tumbler chamber, tumbler bolts, &c. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the wards and tumblers placed side by side, and removed from the tumbler chamber. Fig. 5 represents the spring bolt which actuates the tumblers, and its position in relation to one of the tumblers. Fig. 6 is a representation of the key used for opening my lock. Fig. 7 is a side view of Fig. 6. Fig. S is a View of the latch bolt. Fig. 9 is a view of the fence bolt, or locking bolt, moved in unlocking the door from the outside. Fig. 10 represents a stationary plate, underlying the fence bolt, merely inserted to raise that bolt to the proper height, and give it a level surface to play upon. This part of the lock is not essential and might be dispensed with.

Like letters of reference in the several drawings refer to similar parts of the lock.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improved lock, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In Fig. 1 a is the bed plate of the lock, Z) the side p-iece, and c the top plate or cover. (Z is the wrench, or handle, by which the locking bolt is turned in unlocking. e is the keyhole, which must be made to fit the key accurately to secure its acting properly on the tumblers.

f, Figs. 2 and 3, is the tumbler chamber, a small rectangular box, in which is placed a series of alternate wards, w, and tumblers z5. The shape of the wards is shown clearly in Fig. 4, the outside piece being a ward, and the shape of a tumbler is exhibited in Fig. 5. The tumbler chamber, f, has a horizontal groove g in it corresponding in depth and length with the horizontal grooves, g, in the wards fw, and tumblers Z.

(See

Fig. 4.) Into the horizontal groove, g, in the tumbler chamber f, the fence h, (see Fig'. 2) passes when the bolt, z', is thrown back in unlocking. This tumbler chamber j", is secured by screws to the bed plate of the lock. Attached to it are two uprights, Zr, 7c, between which the locking bolt, z', slides in locking and unlocking. The fence, h, is a thin strip of iron wedged into the face of the locking bolt at right angles to its length, and in such a position that when the bolt is advanced, or in a locked position, the fence is ust clear of the tumblers in the tumbler chamber, f. A spring bolt, Z, (see also Fig. 5) resting o-n the bed plate, a, enters an aperture at the base of the tumbler chamber The extremity of this bolt is rounded on one side and comes to a point, see Fig. 5, so as to slip under the front edge of the tumblers to raise them up in the tumbler chamber. This spring bolt, Z, is furnished. with a spring, s, which presses it constantly into the tumbler chamber. The wards, w, have a horizontal groove, g, corresponding exactly, when the wards are in place, with the groove, g, in the tumbler chamber. The rear end of the wards is the same depth as the interior of the tumbler chamber, but the front end is cut out (see Fig. 4) so that the spring bolt, Z, will not interfere with, nor move, the wards. The tumblers t, see Figs. 4 and 5, are not as deep as the wards, because they are to be pressed down into the tumbler chamber by the key, but they project farther in front, so as to be acted upon by the spring bolt. The front lower corner is cut off so as to allow the bolt to slip under to raise the tumblers. The wards, w, have a perpendicular slit, or groove, 0, (Fig. 4) to admit the key, which the tumblers, t, have not, as the key is designed to force them down into the tumbler chamber, until all the horizontal grooves, g, in the tumblers, t, correspond exactly with the groove, g, in 'the wards, w, and in the chamber, When the tumblers are at rest, the end of the spring bolt lies under them, raising them up, so that the top of the tumblers coincides with the top of the wards and of the tumbler chamber, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The pressure of the key, see Fig. 6, on the tumblers forces them down and causes the spring bolt, Z, to recede. The projections on the end of the key (Fig. 6) are of different lengths, corresponding to the different height of the horizontal grooves, g, in the tumblers, and so adjusted that when the key is inserted between the perpendicular grooves in the wards, w, its projections will force down the tumblers just far enough to bring the horizontal grooves, g, in the tumblers, level with the grooves in the wards, fw, and tumbler chamber, f, so that the locking bolt, z', may be forced back, the fence, e, attached to it, having thus a free way to enter the horizontal groove, g.

The tumblers being adjusted, as just eX- plained, by the key, the locking bolt, z', is advanced, or drawn back, by the wrench d, operating the bit m, the teeth of which gear as a pinion into the rackwork or teeth in the lower edge of the locking bolt z'.

The latch bolt p, is of the shape shown in Fig. 10. It is so made that it shuts itself when the door is closed, being pressed up by a spring s, (Fig. 9) attached. to the standard This spring bolt slides on top of the locking bolt c", being kept in place by the pin r, projecting from the face of the locking bolt i', through the slot-u, which is just large enough to admit of the play of the latch bolt 29, without moving the lock ing bolt z'. The bit U (Fig. 9) moved by the wrench key w, from the inside of the door, turns this latch bolt easily backward and forward, without the aid of any key, or unlocking, and without moving the locking bolt 2"; the wrench key, not passing through to the outside of the lock. A pin y, on the under side of the latch bolt p, projects into a corresponding slot a, in the locking bolt 77,' the slot .a being so long as to allow the play of the latch bolt without requiring any movement of the locking bolt i.

The locking bolt z, is of the shape shown in Fig. 8. The aperture a', fits over the tumbler chamber f, the fence z., is placed at the front end of the aperture a, being wedged into the face of the bolt z". This fence is of the eXact thickness of the groove g, in the tumbler chamber f, tumbler b, and wards fw. As the spring s always presses the latch bolt forward whenever the wrench keys, Z or are not turned back, it is not necessary to make any arrangement for the derangementof the tumblers when the bolt is drawn back, as it cannot possibly remain in that position unless so held by some one who has unlocked it with the proper key, as the drawing back of the latch from the inside by turning the wrench m, does not affect the tumblers t, at all.

The lock is opened from the outside by turning the wrench al.. The cogged bit m, (Fig. 9) enters the teeth on the edge of the locking bolt, and the tumblers t, being adjusted in the tumbler chamber f, as before described, by the key, the locking bolt z", is drawn back, the fence L, entering the hori- Zontal grooves. The pin r, in the locking bolt 'r' carries with it the latch bolt p, the tongue of which projects beyond the front end of the lock. So soon, however, as the wrench, d, is released, the spring s, acting on the end of the latch bolt p, springs it forward again, and the pin y, (Fig. 10) entering the slot e, carries forward also the locking bolt z", withdrawing the fence h, from the groove g, in the tumbler chamber f, when the spring s, see Fig. 3, acting on the bolt Z, raises all the tumblers deranging the grooves and preventing the retrocession of the locking bolt z, without the use of the key from the outside.

As the under surface of the key hole e rests on the face of the tumblers t, and wards w, in the tumbler chamber f, there is no possibility of inserting any powder into the body of the lock, and as the keyhole itself will not hold a thimbleful, it would be impossible to blow it open.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- The combination of the spring bolt Z, tumblers t, t, and fence 71 constructed and arranged in the manner and for the purposes described, together with the combination therewith of the locking bolt i, latch bolt p, so that the lock may be readily opened from inside without using a key, yet requiring a key to open it from the outside substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of February A. D. 1856.

JOSEPH M. LIPPINCOTT.

Witnesses:

WM. N. HOWARD, AND. MoMAsTER. 

